Re-set Your Health this New Year
As I sit in the café of an impressively large Barnes and Noble store in Chicago, sipping on my regular (Aussie large) Almond milk Starbucks cappuccino while slowly grazing on the oatmeal raisin cookie the size of my hand which I would ordinarily forego, but was convinced to buy as I was offered a ‘buy one get one free’ special (how could I refuse?), I’m beginning to see why inflammatory disease, obesity, autoimmunity, metabolic diseases and cancer have reached almost epidemic proportions in the USA and how the increase of bargain deals on junk food and the availability of fast-food chain restaurants at almost every corner will only continue to see these disease statistics climb with every new year that passes!
As an Aussie standing on the outside and looking in, I’m glad to say with unequivocal bias, that we have not reached this level of disease among our population yet as our culture do not rely as heavily on take away meals from fast food chains for their existence, and our environmental influences are also different… however with the popularity of delivery companies like Uber Eats reaching our shores, I foresee we are not too far away from climbing up the ladder of disease statistics as well.
An age of Inflammation
As 2020 hits, the reality is that we are living in an ‘age of inflammation’ with the predominant number of diseases mentioned above mostly caused by inflammation (see previous article on Inflammation causes most disease). And it’s no wonder with the amount of refined sugar and high-fructose corn syrup that is high in processed foods!
What I commonly see in clinic most often are cases of digestive distress, autoimmune conditions, hormone imbalances, persistent anxiety or depression, weight loss resistance and fatigue. My clients have a desire to address the cause of an issue rather than just mask it with pharmaceuticals that often have side effects just as bad or worse than the symptoms they were supposed to relieve. And so, taking a holistic approach to consider their diet, lifestyle, emotional and environmental influences is priority when helping them reach their health goals. Re-setting their health, in my opinion and experience is the best way to go about it!
Re-setting your health
As the phrase implies, ‘re-setting your health’ is just that. We must view your health from a very personal perspective. There is never a one-size-fits-all approach to holistic health as everybody differs from the other. And so, taking your personal history for cause of disease into consideration, including the types of foods you are eating is fundamental. The popular method of following a particular diet fad that is publicised is not always the best approach and is more likely to prolong disease than treat it for you.
The method I prefer to recommend for re-setting one’s health for renewal, especially common at this time of year, is to test for food intolerances or sensitivities to foods in your daily diet that are causing noticeable symptoms. The gold standard test to analyse this is a FOOD ELIMINATION for at least 4 weeks. This can be done under the advice of a professional like myself where we remove inflammatory foods from your diet and replace them with nutritious substitutes to ensure continued health and energy.
Inflammatory foods I commonly remove are:
Gluten
Dairy (can use ghee only as dairy proteins are removed)
Eggs
Refined Sugar
Shellfish
Soy
Nuts
Processed foods in general
Any individual foods the client feels ‘don’t agree with them’
In certain cases, I will advise to avoid meats also. This is considered on an individual basis.
Once we remove these inflammatory foods and replace them with a nutritious wholefoods diet for 4 to 8 weeks, depending on the individual, we usually start to see improvements with health, increased energy and improvements with digestion. The client will consult with me during this process via online or face-to-face consultations and keeps me updated about their progress and challenges which we can tweak as they go along before we start the food re-introduction phase.
Food re-introduction phase:
After the food elimination phase is complete (4-8 weeks depending on the individual), the fun part begins. We start introducing the foods we eliminated one at a time, in wholefood or natural form (not processed foods). I like to introduce these back in slowly, over a period of 7-10 days while the client monitors their symptoms in a food diary. The order of foods introduced depends on the individual, and the reason they went on the Food Elimination Diet.
Once the foods are reintroduced, we usually find the food(s) the individual has reactions/sensitivities to, and they should avoid this particular food for as long as advised, until a future time when we run this elimination food challenge again, to see if they still have a sensitivity to the food. More often than not, people may develop an intolerance to a certain food because they eat it excessively in their diet.
Re-setting your health
Once we have established what foods are good for your body individually, we then discuss nutritious meals, snacks and lifestyle choices that would benefit your personal lifestyle to ensure you maintain health, vitality and consistent energy levels in your day-to-day.
It is amazing how influential eating the right foods for your own body can positively impact the way you look and feel. I recommend giving your health a re-set this year and aligning your food choices with what your body requires. Only then, will you notice the tremendous benefits this will have for your health and life.
Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and purposeful new year!
If you would like my help with re-setting your health and setting purposeful goals for your health this year, please contact me through the contact page for a face-to-face or online consultation.
In health and love
Deena x